PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 14: GIS and Remote Sensing
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Uncertainty in Estimation of Impervious Surface Based on Multi-Scale Remotely Sensed Data: Scale Effect.

Pan, Shufen^*,1, Tian, Hanqin¹, Chen, Mingzhen¹, ¹ Center for Forest Sustainability, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

ABSTRACT- Multi-scale remotely sensed data have been used for estimating imperious surface, a key index for urbanization and associated environmental problems. To determine the explicit amount and spatial distribution of impervious surface cover on the landscape is a key step for the study of urbanization and its effect on such cross-cutting ecosystem services as water quality. This study is to evaluate uncertainty involved in scale-related estimation of imperious surface by using four types of remotely sensed data, which cover a spectrum of spatial resolution including aerial photo (1m), IKONOS (4m), SPOT (10m) and Landsat TM (30m). We have chosen three watersheds along an urban- rural interface in West Georgia, where urbanization in the past decades has been a major concern. Our preliminary analyses indicate that the areas of impervious surfaces as estimated by remotely sensed data varied from fine to coarse resolution for all three kinds of watersheds. To accurately estimate imperious surface and its effects on ecosystem service, therefore, we need to explore ways to scale up observations at a fine resolution to a large area.

Key words: Scale, Remote sensing, Impervious Surface, Urbanization